With recent legislative efforts to expand whistleblower rights and protections, many employers have found themselves confronting an increase in the number of whistleblower reports, complaints, and lawsuits.

While the Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board and the majority of federal courts once agreed that, in order to engage in "protected activity" under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, a whistleblower must describe conduct that "definitively and specifically" relates to one of the categories of unlawful acts set forth in the statute, a new trend shows the ARB and courts on divergent paths.

Over the years, Littler has provided periodic reports on significant cases, regulatory developments and other activities involving the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC or "the Commission").